1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vending machines that sell products directly to the public. More particularly, the present invention relates to vending machines having identification verification capabilities to ensure that the person buying a product from the vending machine is legally allowed to make the purchase.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vending machines are automated machines that provide a product or service to a customer upon the payment of a fee. There are many different types of vending machines in existence. These vending machines sell a nearly countless variety of products and services.
Vending machines are popular because of convenience. Vending machines are ready for business at all times of the day and night. Furthermore, vending machines can be placed in remote locations, such as train stations, hotel corridors and the like that are convenient to customers. However, most all vending machines are non-discriminating. That is, the vending machines will sell a product or service to anyone who deposits the required fee into the vending machine. This is fine with vending machines that sell unregulated products such as candy or soda. However, laws are broken when the vending machine sells regulated products, such as cigarettes, to people who are not legally allowed to purchase such products.
Many municipalities, including New York City, have passed laws banning vending machines that sell regulated products, such as cigarettes. Such municipalities hope that by banning such vending machines, the potential of abuse of these vending machines will be eliminated. However, by banning such vending machines, such municipalities have removed a convenience to customers, the vast majority of which are legally allowed to purchase the products being sold.
In the prior art, there have been attempts to change the design of vending machines so that the vending machines can only sell products to authorized customers. Such prior art vending machines are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,526 to Sharrard, entitled, Dispensing Security System For A Vending Machine. In the Sharrard patent, a vending machine is disclosed that validates the identity of a consumer through an identification card. The identification card is inserted into the vending machine. If the identification card indicates that the customer is of legal age, the vending machine will vend the regulated product.
Such vending machines have not become successful because of the obvious flaw in the verification system. Any person having a valid identification card can use the vending machine. Accordingly, an underage person can purchase regulated products from a vending machine just by borrowing someone else""s card. Since the vending machines verify the card and not the person using the card, the degree of verification is insufficient to overcome the reasons for the ban of vending machines that sell regulated products.
A need therefore exists for a vending machine that directly verifies the person using the vending machine in a manner that cannot be falsified. This would enable vending machines to vend regulated products directly to customers without the fear of abuse by underage or other unauthorized users. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.
The present invention is a vending machine system and its associated method of operation. In the vending machine system, customers are provided with identification cards. The identification cards can be driver""s licenses, bankcards or a specialty vending card. On the identification card is statistical information regarding the age of the card owner. Also contained on the card is data corresponding to a biometric characteristic of the card owner.
Vending machines are provided that contain card readers and biometric characteristic verifiers. When a customer wants to use the vending machine, that customer inserts their identification card into the vending machine. That customer also subjects themselves to a biometric scan from the biometric characteristic verifier contained within the vending machine.
The vending machine reads both the statistical age information from the identification card and the biometric characteristic data. A systems processor in the vending machine compares the biometric characteristic data on the identification card with the biometric characteristic data just gathered by the biometric scan of the customer. If the data matches, it can be assumed that the owner of the identification card is using the identification card. If the identification card then indicates that the customer is old enough to purchase a regulated product, the vending machine is enabled and a regulated product can be sold from the vending machine.